CoE leaders criticise government cuts
Church of England leaders criticise government cuts.
Several Church of England leaders have added their voices to criticism of government cuts. They are among the latest faith leaders to speak out on the subject. Quakers, Baptists and Methodists have already issued critical statements on aspects of the government’s austerity programme.
James Jones, bishop of Liverpool, said that services in his city would face cuts of fifty-two per cent over four years, endangering older people, children and those with mental health problems. Meanwhile, the bishop of Exeter, Michael Langrish, spoke in the House of Lords against recent cuts to child benefit
Some of the strongest criticism came from the dean of Newcastle, Chris Dalliston, who wrote to the chancellor of the exchequer about ‘disproportionate’ cuts in the north-east of England.
He said: ‘The health of a nation is revealed most clearly by the way it treats its most vulnerable members. If that is true, and I’m sure it is, then there is a profound sickness at the heart of our society.’
Several statements from religious groups have suggested alternatives to cuts. The Baptist Union, Methodist Church and United Reformed Church have jointly called for a major crackdown on tax avoidance. In 2011, British Quakers formally called on the government to cut expenditure on war rather than social security for those unable to work.
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